Can-filler.



R. KNIGHT.

CAN FILLER. APPLlcAnoN man JULY 5, 191s.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Patented Dec. 18, 1917.

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Patented Deo. 18, 1917'.

R. KNIGHT.

CAN FILLER. APPLlcATLoN msu JULY 5.1916.

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A TTORNE Y R. KNIGHT.

CAN mma. APPLICATION FILED JULY 5y |916. 1,250,322. Patented Dec. 18,1917. A 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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J, 7&7 L TP ATTORNEY R. KNIGHT.

CAN FILLER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5.1916.

Patented Dec. 18, 1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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"A TToRNEY ROYAL KNIGHT, F BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON.

CAN-FILLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

rammed Dec. 18,1917.

Application filed .luly 5, 1916. Serial N0. 107,501.

Af.To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RoYAL KNIGHT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Bellingham, in the county of Whatcom and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can- .Fillers, of which the following is a specifical tion.

My invention relates to improvements in l0 can fillers used in canning fish and the objects of my invention are to producewa machine which will receive the Whole butchered fish, including the shoulder and tail ends, automatically cut the" same into can lengths, place and retain the U-form sections cut 4therefrom nested together and the other sections in regular order, force said sections into a molding device by means which are automatically controlled by the operative capacity of the same, to place the sh in the cans skin outward and with less crushing than usual and to simplify the mechanism used for the purpose. I attain these objects ,by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying four sheets of drawings in which Figure 1 is a plan view of my can filler, Fig. 2 is a plan view of a portion of Fig. 1 in section on the line b-z, of Fig.l 5, Fig. 3 is a plan view yof another portion of Fig. 1 inb section on the line i--i of Fig. 5, Fig. 4 is a separated plan view from the bottom of the feed plunger, Fig. 5 is a side elevation the greater part of which is in section on the medial line a-a of Fig. l,v Fig. 6 is the development of a cam, Fig 7 is a sideelevation of a portion in section on the line b-b of Fig. 1, Fig. v8 is a diagonal elevation of a portion in section on the diagonal line f, f of Fig. 1, Fig. 9 is the development of a cam, Fig. 10. is a View in elevation of the delivery or rear end of the machine, Fig.C 11 is an end elevation of a portion in section on the bent line d-d of Fig. 1, Fig. 12 is an elevation view of the knife plunger, Fig. 13 is an end elevation of a portion in section on the line e-e of Fig. 1,v Fig. 14 is a limited view in elevationv of the receiving or front end of the machine, Fig. 15 is an end elevation in section on the line c'-c of Fig. 1, Fig. 16 is a separated view'of a slide and -slideways in Aside elevation in section on the line g-g of Fig. 1 and Figs. 17-20 are diagrammatic ,pflanviews illustrating several of the operative positions of the fork feed. Similar y sp, sq.

characters refer to similar parts in the several views. Certain parts are broken into in order to show other parts hidden thereby.

More particularly: The main frame of my machine consists of the table top 2, legs 2a, 2",

etc., cross pieces 2b, 2b, etc., side rails 2, 2e,

and rear end frame 3. The main driving shaft 2g has the driver pulley 2h and is mounted for revolution in bearings on cross pieces 2b, 2b, etc. A bevel gear 21 on shaft 2g engages with a bevel gear 2Z on al' horizontal counter shaft 2P. A bevel gear 2S onshaft 2p engages with a bevel gear 2 on vertical, arbor shaft` 2t. Shaft 2t is mounted for revolution in-bearings attached to the table top and mounts Athe horizontal, spiral-shape knife 2V. Said knife is housed in a chamber between4 the table top and tie flange 2". Said flange 2y is the base of fish hopper 2W. The lower part of hopper 2w is made U- shape in cross section by the rounded top embossment 2X. l A horizontal tube 2c of recx tangularv crossl section extends from said hopper to the delivery end of the machine. The feed or fish-slice plunger 9, having handle 9b, 9, is mounted for reciprocation in tube 2. Plunger 9 has a longitudinal hole in which is reciprocated a skewcr 9e. The part 9 of'the plunger handle is offset upward, its end 9d is bent at right angles downlward and has therein two longitudinal horizontal holes in the upper one of which said skewer is reciprocated. Said part 9d reciprocates on slideway rody 9l1 which passes through the lower' of said holes. Said slideway rod is rigidly mounted in lugs 9g, 9g on table top 2 in line with tube. 2. Behind slideway rod 9*'- are two slideway rods 8P, 89, parallel therewith and rigidly mounted in lugs 8, 8 on table top 2. Slide 8*1 having wrist pin 8d is mounted for sliding on rods In the left-handend lof :slide 8h are short slideways in which a slider@e can recip'- rocate. Lever arm 8 is pivoted in iioor brackets 8a, 8a and has a'slot 8b in its upper end engaged with wrist pin 8d. Said arm 8 has near its middle a stud bearing a roller 8. O11 drive shaft 2g is rigidly mounted cam 2k located to engage roller 8c. Said cam is shaped to cause arm 8 to make one complete vibration during one-half of each revolution of shaft 2g and to cause said arm to remain at rest during the other half of said revolution thus causing slide 8h to make one out and return movement on slideways 8P and 8q during one half of each revolution of said' shaft. A dog 8i having a notched jaw 8k is pivoted on slide 8h at 8j. The rear end of said do-g is bifurcated, one leg being connected at 3g to slide 611 by connecting-rod 8f, the other leg being provided with a socket in which is seated one end of coil spring 811. The other end 'of spring 8n abuts in a socket in a lug 8l rigid on slide 8h. A screw 8m in said lug bears on spring 8n and is use'd to adjust the pressure of the same. A. block 9f is clamped to skewer 9e under the odset part 9C of feed-plunger handle 9b and is engageable with notch 8k in the jaw of dog 8i. rEhe described construction causes skewer 9e to move back and `forth with slide 8h. Block 9f is free to move between end 9d of the offset part 9c of'feedplunger handle 9b and the end of said handle 9b. l/Vhen said block is caused to move beyond these limits said plunger is carried with it. ln case the rearward movement of plunger 9 meets an opposing force of predetermined amount, spring 8 is compressed and dog 8i is disengaged from block 9f and slide 8l1 completes its rearward move-ment without taking said plunger farther. On returning said dog again engages with said block and said skewer is withdrawn within plunger' 9 and both are returned to their starting point. The skewer is thus enabled to impale the new piece of lish in front of the plunger and retain the same in regular order until it is nested in the slice cut before it. @n the rearward end of shaft 2g is a bevel gear 2j which engages with bevel gear 3C on the lower end of vertical counter shaft 3a. Said vertical shaft is mounted for rotation in bearings on table top 2 and on frame 3. N ear its upper end is mounted gea-r 3 which engages forward with gear 3g mounted near the upper end of a parallel, vertical shaft 3 which is mounted for rotation in bearings on frame 3 and table top 2. Near the lower end of shaft 3f and above table top 2 is rigidly mounted the double-crank disk 3i having wrist pin 6i. rlhe slotted end of connecting rod 6o is engaged with pin 6l. rllhe other end of said connecting rodk isv pivotally en- Said gaged with crank 6i of fork arm 6h. fork arm is pivotally mounted for horizontal oscillation on drive arm 6 -on a studgscrew through its hub 61. rlhe end oftforlt arm 6h is bifurcated and has vertically-registering, slotted holes in which is engaged the fork head 6e, Figs. 2 and 11. The lower of said bifurcations is extended and constitutes an eyewhich is pivotallyengaged to connecting rod 6k. ,The other "end of said connecting rod is pivotally engaged with a lug 6 on a slideplate 6, Figs. 2, 5, 11 and 13. Fork head 6e has a handle 6i. Between said handle and an ear 6p on fork arm 6h is connected -roller bears on cam 3h. F 1g. 10, of slide bar 3"A is rigidly attached incassa of drive arm 6. rlhe reciprocation of feed fork 6d in the cylinder 6c causes said fork to enter transversely into and be withdrawn from tube 2. At the shorter end of fork arm 6h is another crank 6r having a vertical stud 6s. Said stud engages for sliding in a slideway 7C in the form of a ligure with four Aarc-like sides,\Figs. l and 8. Said slideway is formed in a horizontal plate 7a fastened to a lug T on .table top 2. Plate 7a has a central part fastened in place by bridge pieces 7 b. Pivotally attached to plate 7a are two dogs 7d and 7 e. Said brid e piece 7b also serves as a stop for the bit enrgls' of said dogs. rlhe tail ends of dogs 7 d and 7e have sockets in which is mounted a coil spring Tf. Slide plate 6 is mounted for sliding in a diagonal slideway on the bottom side of table top 2. Y When in place the bote tom of said slide plate is flush with the bottom of said table top'. A diagonal slot 6v in the table top provides room for thenormal movements of lug 6n rigidly attached to said slide. Said slideway passes under tube 2c so that slide plate 6 may close v.a hole 12, Fig. 2, in the bottom of said tube. ln Figs.

l and 2 the drive arm 6 and fork arm 6h,

carried thereon, are shown in full lines. ln this position: said drive'arm 6 is in its farthest left position, slide plate 6 completely closes holec 12, feed fork 61 is fully extended across tube 2c and in its farthest-left posi tion, and wrist pin 6t in crank disks 3i, 3i is in its farthest-left position. This location of parts will be hereinafter referred to as the first quadrant position. This position of the fork 6d and controlling mechanism are also shown in the diagram inFig. 20. The farthest-right position of drive arm 6 is shown in dotted outline at 6 in Figs. 1 18 and 19. And three operative positions y of fork arm 6h are shown-in dotted outlines at 6W, 6h and 6hl in Figs. 1, 17, 18 and 19. Also the three positions of connecting rod 6, which cause the said three operative positions of fork arm 6h referred to, are shown in dotted lines at 60, 60 and 60 in Figs. 1, 17, 18 and 19. @n vertical shaft 3f, between `gear 3g and crank disks 3i, is rigidly A vertical slide bar 3v is mounted for sliding in upper slideway 3m and lower slideway 3, both of which are rigidly attached to frame 3. l On a boss 3y,

rigidly attached to the left side, Fig. 10, of

Said 0n the right side,

slide bar 3v is mounted thel roller 3X.

horizontal arm .3W which'terminat'es in yoke 3S. Said yoke is mounted on a neck 31, Fig.

12, of cylindrical-knife plunger 3k in a manner to ermit said lunger to revolve in said yoke. 1I.llunger 3k as a hollow stem 3t rigidly attached centrally. Said stem terminates above in a hollow threaded body or screw 3*. Screw 3lr is mounted in threaded bearing 14. Plunger 3k is mounted for reciprocation and revolution in vertical cylinder 31 which is concentric with threaded bearing 14 and is rigidly attached to tableV spring 3z is mounted on stem 31 between piston 3 and plunger 3k. Stops 31 in the lower end of cylinder 3k prevent the nearer approach of said p'iston to said plunger than is shown in Fig. 13. The revolution of cam 3h causes plunger 3k and annular knife 3 to reciprocate in cylinder 31 while the screw 3r operating in threadedl bearing 14 causes said ycylinder and knife to revolve as they reciprocate. The rear end of tube 2c is widened and its sides arecylindrical segments. Central with said segments is vertical stud 4h rigidly attached to the bottom of tube 2. Mounted on said stud and in said segments is a two-part, charge mold 4, 4 having handles 4a, 4a. Vertically pivoted at the ends of said handles are the knobs 41, 41. Each of saidl knobs has a7 horizontal hole in `which is mounted for reciprocation the sprin .rod 4g. threaed and has a nut, and between one of said nuts and one of said knobs and on said rod is the coil spring 41. The jaws of mold 4, 4 are shaped to form segments of a cylinder concentric with and of the same size as the hole 12 in the bottom of tube 2c when the handles of said clamp' are opened as shown in full lines in Fig. 2. On one of arms 4a, 4a is the roller 4b mounted on a vertical stud for revolution. Roller 4b bears on the quadrant cam 4d. On the other of said arms 4a, 4a is the roller 4c similarly mounted and bearingon the quadrant cam 4e. Cams 4d and 4' are rigidly mounted on vertical shaft 3b. Shaft 3b is mounted for revolution in bearings on table top 2 and frame 3, and has the ,gear wheel 3e rigidly mounted thereon. Said gear 3e engages with gear 3d and is driven thereby. A tube 21 of rectangular cross section parallel with and below tube 2 extends the full length of the machine. The disks 5d, 5e of a Geneva movement are rigidly mounted on vertical shaft 3 near its lower end. Disk 5d has the vertical stud 51, Fig. 3. Spider 51 is rigidly mounted on vertical Each end of said rod is` shaft 5, which is mounted for revolution in bearings on bar 2b and tube 2d, Fig. 10. Said spider 5b has four segmental notches 5m and four radial arms in the end of each of which is a slot 5h, Fig. 3. vDisk 5e. has a segmental quadrant notch 5D. Disks 5d, 5e and spider 51J are so related that the revolution of shaft 31 causes stud 5f to engage with one of slots 'spider 51 to prevent further movement of said spider until stud 5t has completed a revolution and engaged with a slot 5h in another of said spider arms. Shaft 5 has gear 51 rigidly attached thereto. Gear 51 meshes `with gear 5k on vertical shaft 5a which is mounted for revolution in bearings on bar 2b and tube 21. On the' upper end of shaft 5 and in an opening in one side of tube 2d is rigidly mounted one of a pair of can-feed spiders 5b.' On shaft 5a in an opening in the other side of tube 2d is rigidly mounted the other one of said pair of can-feed spiders 5. 0n the middle of the bottom of tube 2c and in front of mold 4 is longitudinal guide knife 10 to aid in keeping the slices of fish in order, and on the middle of said bottom on the front edge of hole 12 is segmental shear plate 1l registering with said hole. Beneath table top 2 in bearings on bars 2e transverse shaft 2m is mounted for revolution. Said shaft bears pulley 2n. On pulley 21 is conveyer belt 2o which is driven by a distant pulley not shown. Conveyer belt 2 passes toward the rear end of the machine over the bottom of tube 2d, and carries empty cans from a distant machine, not shown, to can-feed spiders 5b, 5c. Arrows indicate the direction of movement of several parts of the machine which move in one direction only. The gear connections between the several shafts all have the ratio of one. Therefore, one revolution of pulley 211 causes one revolution of cam 2k, knife 2v, cam 3h, one quarter revolution of can-feed spiders 5b, 5c, and one complete vibration of drive arm 6. 1n this description one of said revolutions will be segregated into quadrants and the illustrated full-line position of the several movable parts will be called the firstquadrant position, and the time between the first and second quadrant positions will be called the first quadrant of operation, and so on.

My machine operates as follows: Assume the drivepulley 2h and conveyer 2 to be in continuous operation. Also assume that the machine has been in normal operation and that slices of fish A, A, etc., shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2 occupy the tube 2 be'- tween hopper 2w and charge mold 4, also said'charge mold 4 is closed and the open-v The liopper has dropped doivnf war and i5 resting on the bottoni oi tube ring the nist-quadrantooperation: QV moves to dotted position 2"" ifi completeiy severs a slice Ei from said ln cani 2k relier 8@ occ "ies a position caro shown dotted iines 8 i and therefore lever 8 has not o. to dotted position at om and has only reach the inner of the slot connecting 60 and therefore has not reciproca-ted sa rod. Q adrant cains Lle@ and i through quadrant and, ivl l d in the iLA their inrtlier rotatior to be opened by the Cain has position slioivn in do has caused annular im aust below the ll ani. above sli 'e oi" sh which is mold i loose :from the charge plunger 30 rests on tooi @ne ch a1 A oi iish in mold 4. Stud 5f on di ,r 5d has moved to dotted position o, and disk 5 has held can-feed spider 5b and 5C stationary. Fig. 17 sh-oivs by diagram the position of ifo 6d and connected inechanisin when cra lpin St has moved to o", or about. i5@ beyond its position at the end of the iirst quadrant.

During the secondouadrant or operation; Slicing knife 2V moves to dotted position 2v. @am 2k causes roller 8C to occupy7 dotted position 8 in Figs. 5 and 9, causing lever 8 to move to dotted position 8 which has operated to cause the sharpened end oi slieiver needle 9e iirst to inoveout oi iced plunger 9 and pierce the slices of iish in front of the saine and then nieve With said plunger to their dotted positions at' 9e and 9 respectively, Fig. 5. pushing the slices of iish in tube 2C in iront ci said feed plunger While said slices are slievvered on said needles end. Canis 4d. de inove to permit rollers 4b, 4C to bear on ,their surfaces oi least radius, which under the pressure olf spring il causes charging inold 4 to occupy its open or dotted position shown in Fig f2. Wrist pin Gt between crank disks Sfinoves from dotted position 6ta `to av position Within 1500i Gt which is shown in dotted lines in Fig. l and also sliovvn in diagrain Fig. 18. The iirst movement of said pin ot, from 6ta to 6V, in its second quadrant, re-

ciprocated cenneciting,- rod o tof-"ard right. Drive arin could not niov 'because stud 6s, on cranicol was against the dog '78. `Hence the longitudinal pressure oit' pin ,6 on rod 6 caused forli erin "3 to turn about pivot @j iintil studv 65 reached the dotted position. 5S" 1 Tl "s inoveinent oiion the iirst fifteen one in the said second A l en stud o5 is in do 6h is in dotted pos i?, and ifo-rk 6d has been entirely l the ends ci i! nde' 30. Also jL csA movement in A i8 sho-ws by ola n e positif` 6d and connected pin @t has moved to position Q- 15o beyond position the second quadrant.

During the third quadrant of Slicing knife 2V inoves to its do= 'ed position at 2W weich taires it entirely under the hopper opening. Cain 2k causes roller 8C to occupy its dotted position at 86, Fig. 9, which causes lever 8 to return to full-lin position, Fig. 5. This movement oiiqlever 8 iirst operates to draw sliewer 9e entirely ivitliin plunger 9 and then returns said slreiver and plunger to their full line positions Shown in Fig. 5j which withdraws plunger 9 entirely from under the opening in hopper `2"" and permits the "ish in said hopper to pass downward to the door of tube 2C. Cranlr disks 8i carry pin 6 to Within 15o oi its dotted position at 6W. During this quadrant of movement said pin moves only the length oi ythe slotin rod 60 and therefore neither drive arm 6 nor its attached mechanism is moved. But after disk 31 has revolved to bring pin Gt fifteen degrees beyond the end of the third quadrant or to position 6V", Figs. l and 19, the forli incohanisin is in the position shown in diagram in Fig. 19. Canis ed and de are in a part oi their revolution during the third quadrant l. will of movement Where rollers 4b and 4 are bearmg on cam surfaces of least radlus and Vhence mold 4-remains open. Cam 3h, during the first one third of the said third quadrant of movement, forces roller 3x to occupy the position shown in dotted lines at 3"a Figs. 6 and' l0. This is the lowest limit of movement of said roller. Hence, during said first one-third quadrant of movement, cylindrical knife 3 is moved down to the bottompo'f can B, which is then retained in can-feed spiders 5 and 5, and

iston 3- follows, carrying the charge of fish C down to fill said can B', see Fig. 13. During the remaining two thirds of the said third quadrant of movement roller 3X is carried to its dottedv position at 3V", Fig. 6. Hence, during said two-thirds of this period, knife 3u and piston 3 are carried to their highest position shown in full lines in Fig. 5. And during said third quadrant of movement stud 5f, Fig 3,- moves to its dotted position at 5w and .can-feed spiders 5b and 5 are not moved.

During the fourth quadrant of movement: Slicing knife 2v moves from its dotted position at 2W to its full line position, Fig. 1. Roller 8 is moved from its dotted position at 8 to its full line position Fig. 9, and does not cause lever 8 to move. Crank disks 3i carry pin 6t from a position 15b ahead of that shown at 6V", Figs. 1 andA 19, to its full line position at 6t in Fig. 1. During this entire quadrant of movement con-` necting rod 6 is reciprocated Itoward the left. AThis movement exerts a leftward pull on stud 6. But since at the beginning it is in its dotted position at 6, dog 7d prevents it from moving leftward and it therefore first moves upward in slideway 7 'under bridge piece 71 to its dotted position at 65. This upward movement of stud 6 does not move drive arm 6 but causes fork arm 6h to turn downward from its dotted position at 6 to its dotted position at 6U, Figs. 1 and 19, which moves fork 6d endwise across tube 2 into fish A to its dotted position at 61", and also causes slide plate 6 to move from its dotted position where it again completely closes hole 12. The remainder of the fourth quadrant of movement of pin 6t causes stud 6 to move from position 65 past dog 7 to its full line position at 6 and drive arm 6 moves with its attached mechanism to their full line positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Said movement carries fork 6d along tube 2 from its dotted position at 6. toward the rear to its full line position at 6d and. forces fish into the open mold 4. Cam 3h causes no change in position of roller 3X during said fourth quadrant of movement. Cams 4, 4 cause rollers 4b .and 4 t0 bear against the larger. circumference of said cams during the very last part of said fourth quadrant of movement and returnsl said rollers to their full line positions shown in Fig. 2. Hence the jaws of mold 4 are brought to their full line positions and closed on fish A at the end of said fourth quadrant of movement. And stud 5f,'Fig. 3,(moves from its dotted position at 5W into engagement with a slot 5 in one of the arms of spider 5g at the beginning of the fourth quadrant of movement and revolves said spider through a quarter of a revolution during said fourth quadrant of movement.- Hence can-feed spiders 5 and 5 are revolved through a quarter of av revolution during said fourth quadrant of movement which causes the can B', which hasA been filled with fish as described, to be carried rearward to its dotted position at C, and brings an empty can into the central 'opening between said spiders. Meanwhile the conveyer belt 2 has been bringing empty cans to said can-feed spiders las rapidly as they. have been feeding them rearward through tube 2. Thus one revolution is completed and subsequent revolutions cause a similar sequence of movements of the parts of the machine. The skewerl 9 and guide knife 10 in the bottom of tube. 2 aid in keeping the slices A, A etc.v in regular order in said tube. The slip-hold engagement of dog 8i with block 92 prevents undue pressure from being exerted on said slices A by plunger 9. The amplitude of the feeding movements of fork 6, as described, can be made of any desired amount by choosing the proper radius for wrist pin 6. Hence the pieces A can be. placed in mold 4 oy' said fork without undue pressure or mutilation and for the" most part With skin outward. The automatic release of feed plunger 9 afforded by dog 8i operating under the pressure of spring 8l1 is of the greatest importance in-an entirely automatic machine such as this. For, because of the varying size of different` fish as well as the varying size of different slices of the same fish, regularity of action of slicing and molding means must be accompanied by automatic irregularity'of feeding means. The irregularity of the. feeding means described is controlled by the capacity of the molding means.

Having thus fully described my can filler, what l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

1. In combination, in a machine of the character described, a fish slicer, a fish-slice plunger, a charge mold, and automatic means to control the operation of said vfish I plunger dependent on the operative capacity of saidV charge mold.

2. In a machine of the character described, in combination, a fish slicer, a shslice plunger, a charge mold, a can filler, means to operate said slicer, mold and filler in timed relation, and automatic means 

